ɑ ϛtory ℒike ɳo ℴther
by Bookreader525
Summary: Leapingstar and Shadowscar of StormClan didn't know what they were getting into when they had their litter of six: Kissedkit, Cricketkit, Robinkit, Singingkit, Falconkit, and Cherrykit. Maybe they were getting into a story like no other... Please R&R! Based on characters from a roleplay site I was on. (On hiatus.)
1. Allegiances and Prologue

**This is also an older story. I haven't worked on it in a few years, but I'm gonna publish it now and see what happens. I don't remember how good these chapters are, I guess we'll see. :P I will post allegiances and prologue together, then chapter one today.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own _Warriors _or most of these characters! These characters are from a roleplay site I used to be on. The only names that are mine are Mossyfire (my classic OC; was added in for this story because there was no medicine cat at the time), Shadowscar, Fuzzyears, Ashenflame, Boulderpelt, Brackenstripes, Falconkit, and Frostflower. And these were just the cats I played in StormClan!**

**FlameClan names that are mine: Hawkfire, Finchdream, Featherecho, Shatteredspirit, Amberface.**

**RippleClan names that are mine: Crowstar (I ended up RPing him later), Lionstripe (my OC, added in for story because there was no deputy at the time), Blizzardfur, Bushwillow, Horseblaze, Mistfeather, Moonwhisker, Echomask.**

**Hope you enjoy. -Mossy**

* * *

A story like no other.

Indeed it is.

This is the story of a litter of six kits in a Clan of warrior cats known as StormClan.

The litter had all she-cats but one, the second-youngest, a tom.

The proud parents, Leapingstar and Shadowscar, had no idea what they were getting into when they had this litter.

Perhaps they were getting into

a story like no other.

ALLEGIANCES-STORMCLAN- PART ONE

LEADER

LEAPINGSTAR- lithe sandy-blond she-cat with darker burnt stripes twisting around her body; she has white eyes with smoky-gray clouds around her pupils.

DEPUTY

ASHFOOT- loyal gray tom with blue eyes

MEDICINE CAT

MOSSYFIRE- tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with green eyes

WARRIORS

SHADOWSCAR- smoke-gray tom with blue eyes

PRICKLEPELT- spotted dark brown tabby with a beige base coat and dark gray-brown eyes.

APPRENTICE, EAGLEPAW

LEMONSTING- sharp-tongued dark brown tabby she-cat with lighter brown stripes and creamy yellow eyes.

APPRENTICE, CRESCENTPAW

LEOPARDSOUL- experienced, young spotted brown she-cat

SHADEWHISKER- slightly annoying black tom with silver-gray legs and yellowish-green eyes.

FUZZYEARS- playful striped gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

EVERHEART- soft-furred gray she-cat

APPRENTICE, WHISPERPAW

ASHENFLAME- cold-hearted dark ginger she-cat with darker black stripes and green eyes flecked with a sunlit yellow.

PEPPERTAIL- gentle light brown she-cat with darker brown stripes across her back and hazel eyes.

BOULDERPELT- quiet, solid-dusty brown tabby tom with amber-blue eyes

APPRENTICE, SMOKEPAW

BRACKENSTRIPES- bold she-cat with long, fluffy dark brown fur with night-black streaks and dull blue eyes.

CROWNIGHT- charming pure-black tom with blue eyes

APPRENTICES

SMOKEPAW- mischievous ashy-gray tom with darker smoky stripes and emerald-green eyes.

WHISPERPAW- determined misty gray she-cat with golden eyes; Smokepaw's sister.

EAGLEPAW- small dusty red tom with bold black stripes on his pelt and green eyes.

CRESCENTPAW- long-haired brown tom

QUEENS

LEAPINGSTAR- (read description above; mother to Shadowscar's kits: Kissedkit- light brown dappled she-kit with incandescent green eyes, Cricketkit- light beige she-kit with ginger ears and forehead stripes, and piercing blue eyes, Robinkit- brown tabby she-kit with a reddish patch on her chest and amber eyes, Singingkit- kind light ginger she-kit with dark grayish-blue eyes, Falconkit- fluffy brown-and-white tom-kit with wide blue eyes, and Cherrykit- orange, black, and white tortoiseshell she-cat with very pale blue eyes.)

FROSTFLOWER- wise, nimble ice-white queen with blue eyes; Shadowscar's sister. (Mother to Morningkit- hyper, older she-kit with a fluffy light brown-and [mostly] white pelt and amber eyes, and Heatherkit- energetic, bouncy brown tabby she-kit with almost-matching brown eyes.)

RAGGEDWATER- protective tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with green eyes. (Mother to Rootkit- light brown she-kit with dark stripes and deep blue eyes, Rustlekit- long-haired dark tabby she-kit with dark green eyes, Hazekit- black tom-kit with orange eyes, and Flashkit- ginger-and-white tom with green eyes.)

ELDERS

MORNINGFLAME- ginger tabby she-cat with dark amber eyes

FLAMECLAN- ALLEGIANCES- PART ONE

LEADER

BAYSTAR- brown tabby tom with amber eyes

DEPUTY

RUNNINGSTORM- burly tom with mottled brown tabby fur

MEDICINE CAT

BIRDFLIGHT- light brown tabby she-cat with white chest and paws.

APPRENTICE, DAPPLEDPAW- dappled tortoiseshell she-cat

WARRIORS

HAWKFIRE- ginger tabby tom with green eyes

FINCHDREAM- white she-cat with blue eyes

FEATHERECHO- black tom with amber eyes

APPRENTICE, ANGELPAW

SHATTEREDSPIRIT- black tom with amber eyes

BLOSSOMPELT- light ginger tabby she-cat

FIRECLAW- flame-colored tabby tom

SPOTTEDFIRE- tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

STONERIPPLE- light gray tabby tom with a white underbelly, paws, and tail-tip.

TIGERTALON- fluffy brown-and-black tom

APPRENTICE, MOSSPAW

SPIRITSONG- silver she-cat with black tabby stripes

APPRENTICES

ANGELPAW- black she-cat

MOSSPAW- ginger, brown, and black tortoiseshell she-cat

QUEENS

AMBERFACE- gray she-cat with blue eyes (Mother to Hawkfire's kits: Beechkit- tortoiseshell-and-white she-kit, Cameokit- tortoiseshell tom-kit, and Tigerkit- black tom-kit. Foster mother to Runningkit- tortoiseshell she-kit, and Ashkit- fire-red tom-kit.)

RIPPLECLAN- ALLEGIANCES- PART ONE

LEADER

CROWSTAR- elderly black-and-white tom

DEPUTY

LIONSTRIPE- dark ginger tabby tom with dull amber eyes

MEDICINE CAT

BLIZZARDFUR- very, very pale ginger, almost white, she-cat with shiny blue eyes

WARRIORS

SWIFTSNAKE- glossy pale tabby tom with darker stripes

APPRENTICE, HUMMINGPAW

BUSHWILLOW- gray tabby tom with bright blue-green eyes

THISTLECLAW- very dark smoky gray, practically black, tom

APPRENTICE, CRYSTALPAW

REEDWHISPER- dark ginger she-cat

APPRENTICE, HONEYPAW

HORSEBLAZE- ginger tabby tom with amber eyes

MISTFEATHER- gray-brown tabby tom with big, misty gray-blue eyes

APPRENTICE, COLDPAW

ICESHADOW- black she-cat with a white chest and muzzle

APPRENTICE, HOLLOWPAW

DAYDREAM- light brown tabby she-cat with white paws and belly

APPRENTICE, BROKENPAW

APPRENTICES

CRYSTALPAW- gray-and-white she-cat

HONEYPAW- brown tabby she-cat

COLDPAW- dark brown tabby tom

HUMMINGPAW- brown tabby she-cat with black streaks on her pelt

HOLLOWPAW- black-and-white tom

BROKENPAW- brown tabby tom

QUEENS

MOONWHISKER- silver-gray queen with bluish-green eyes

ECHOMASK- undersized ginger she-cat with green eyes. Tabby stripes decorate her face, making a "mask". (Mother to Mistfeather's kit Nightkit- black she-kit with dark green eyes, tinted with blue.)

PROLOGUE

"Are you sure this is the correct choice, Hollystar?"

"Of course it is!" The reply to a gray-and-white she-cat's question was a sharp snap, like the sudden snap of a tree branch falling.

The creamy tabby that answered didn't look at all guilty that she snapped. Her blue eyes did not glitter with not anger, though, they glittered with the nervousness many mothers had.

The other she-cat was frowning widely, too, as she pawed at a fading misty cloud to uncover more cats below. "Hollystar, I'm still not so sure."

Her pained blue eyes reflected down on beautiful scenery below... two tabbies, one light brown and the other smoky gray, purring together in a grassy field. As their purrs and love drifted up into the sky and rumbled in the she-cat, Grayspots's, ears, she glimpsed a barn nearby.

The Old Barn, Grayspots mumbled to herself while she gazed around, memories of her adventures there as a young cat soon filling her vision.

"Well, what do you see?" Hollystar's demand kicked Grayspots out of her dreamy flashback.

Tired of being bossed around, the starry warrior growled back, "Why don't you part a cloud and look yourself?!"

"I'll part a cloud and drop you down right out of the sky, then. How does that sound?" Hollystar growled in reply, though she pawed at a cloud anyway and looked into the wavering hole she had made.

"My daughter, and your son..." the former leader whispered, looking down upon them. "They're having kits."

Grayspots shot straight up and perked her ears as much as she could. Eyes widened, she exclaimed, "What?!"

Soon enough she was jumping around and around. "Kits, kits! Shadowscar's going to be a father! It's just like when Frostflower had her two!"

Hollystar rolled her eyes. "This will be Leapingstar's second litter." Then her blue eyes shone with worry. "But...what will the Clan do when their leader's nursing kits?"

Just then two new cats entered the misty clearing and joined the she-cats. These warriors were tomcats, both thick-furred and broad-shouldered. One had long claws that tapped impatiently against the ground.

"Well, what's the news?" The long-clawed cat demanded. The tip of his tail twitched indignantly as he waited for a reply.

Grayspots beamed at him. "Longclaw, our son is going to be a father!"

"What?!" Longclaw repeated the same exact words that his mate had earlier. His pale tabby fur stood up in bristly clumps, and instantly he sheathed his unusually long claws.

The other cat, a slick-furred light brown tom, grinned and respectfully dipped his head. "Wonderful. Leapingstar's second litter this will be, correct?"

"Yes, Reedwhisker, yes!" Hollystar smiled shakily and she moved closer to the thick warrior. "Today is a happy day."

* * *

**Longclaw and Grayspots are mine, Hollystar and Reedwhisker are not. (Different Reedwhisker from the actual books.) **

**Thanks to Rainy, Prickles, Spirit, Cloudy, El, and many more for making my time on Raintal0n wonderful!**

**-Mossy**


	2. The Introduction

_Soon after the kits were born _was when Ashfoot died.

He was Leapingstar's deputy, a noble and loyal cat. He was put in charge of the Clan while she cared for her kits.

What Leapingstar didn't know was that he was about to step down from his current position to retire to the elders early. Each and every day the gray tomcat suffered unbearable pains in his joints, chest- all over his still quite young body. Ashfoot could no longer handle what it took to be second-in-command.

Then she had her kits, and Ashfoot became in charge of StormClan temporarily. He was forced to still work constantly.

Ashfoot told Mossyfire about his problem, and she kept quiet about it. Privately, she'd give him many treatments to relieve pain, though not much of it helped.

She believed that a lot of exercise would loosen up Ashfoot's joints at least a little bit, so the two of them went for walks together in the deep, dense forest.

One certain day, they were slowly moving along, Ashfoot with a slight limp in his back left leg of course. It was kind of like a leader and his medicine cat walking together. Mossyfire watched that lame leg carefully, making the deputy stop every few pawsteps to check on it. She always carried some herbs with her just in case.

Then, suddenly, to Mossyfire's great horror, the solid gray tom dropped dead.

She laid down beside him and sighed, her breath blowing the fur on Ashfoot's chest. "Must have been too much pain for him to handle," the she-cat whispered. She ran her paw down the dead cat's belly, which was still warm as if he were only playing dead. After all, blood was still pumping through there just heartbeats ago.

_Speaking of heartbeats..._ Mossyfire thought to herself. _Let me just check his pulse..._ She gently placed her paw over his chest just after parting his fur. _He's laying perfectly still, so it must be so..._

Sure enough, inside Ashfoot's body it was lifeless. No more thump of a heartbeat. Mossyfire's lower lip trembled and her tail shook as she rested her head down on Ashfoot's abdomen carefully. _It's like when Frostflower's mate, Calmstream, died... _And suddenly the tortoiseshell she-cat entered a quick flashback.

"_Calmstream, no, Calmstream.. .don't leave me!"_

_A bloody light brown tabby lay in a pool of his own blood after being attacked by a savage Twoleg dog that came out of nowhere whatsoever._

_Morningkit and Heatherkit, their daughters, hadn't arrived yet. At that moment Frostflower whimpered down to her mate, "And what about our kits? Our wonderful, wonderful, kits? Huh? What about them?"_

Mossyfire's flashback abruptly ended when she heard a rustling coming from behind her. Suddenly, out popped a patrol led by Pricklepelt. Behind him stood wide-eyed Eaglepaw, confused Lemonsting, and cock-headed Crescentpaw.

"I... I can explain..." Mossyfire cried, horror filling her eyes. But before she could say anything more, Pricklepelt raised his tail, which indicated for her to be quiet. Then he spoke:

"Lemonsting, you and Crescentpaw put the body on my back. You, Mossyfire, will explain what happened on the way to camp." The tabby warrior's voice was steady, not shaky. His amber gaze was firm, not scared. Most of all, he was _calm_.And the Clan deputy was _dead_.

Highly puzzled by the tomcat's behavior, she started walking beside Pricklepelt once Ashfoot's body was on his back.

"So, let me begin starting a while ago..." Mossyfire began. "You see, when I was a warrior apprentice, I caught greencough one harsh leaf-bare..."

_I was in the medicine den, and back then Hootfeather and her old apprentice Turtlesong were still alive. Each and every day I was stuck with them, and though it was boring to me- I was eager to get back to training with my mentor- I would hear them reciting all of the herbs and their uses._

_Soon, as an activity, I would secretly join Turtlesong's training sessions, and sometimes I got a question correct when he didn't, or I got the answer to a question before he did. They never knew that I did it, though._

_Well, eventually I outgrew my sickness and went back to training again. I had a lot to catch up on, so..._

"Can you get to the point?" Eaglepaw asked impatiently. "We're close to camp now."

Mossyfire didn't exactly like being interrupted by an apprentice, especially one that asked her to do things, but she followed his order anyway when she saw the look Pricklepelt gave her.

_Now all of the herb names and their uses were imprinted in my brain, to be of use forever. After Turtlesong was killed, I considered becoming Hootfeather's new apprentice. I finally said something, and I switched from training to be a warrior to training to be a medicine cat, but I was so expert, I got my full name early. _

_Then, one day, after Leapingstar and Shadowscar's kits were born and Ashfoot became in charge of the Clan, I noticed a limp. He had it every day, and finally I convinced him to tell me what his problem was._

_He had sore muscles, probably permanently. I kept his problems a secret and secretly treated him, but nothing worked._

_I always made sure that he got lots of exercise, since I believed it would loosen up his joints a bit. Turns out he had been planning to retire early. Today we were walking, as we did many other days, and, well... he just dropped dead from too much pain._

Mossyfire finished with a heavy gulp and she waited for Pricklepelt's answer. He cleared his throat before replying, "Very interesting, Mossyfire. Thanks for the whole story about your past; we only needed to know about Ashfoot. But anyway, I never suspected that you'd committed murder on Ashfoot, so you can put your fur down now."

The tortoiseshell female let out a sigh she didn't know that she was holding in as they entered camp.

Muffled noises boomed in Kissedkit's ears as she suckled beside her siblings. Her left side was cold, as she knew that no sister was next to her there. To her right was Cricketkit; she could smell something recognizable in her fur, she just didn't know what.

Kissedkit was still young, only a moon old. She had just opened her eyes, and her ears were starting to open up too. The suppressed sounds she was used to were starting to become more clear now.

The only sister the little she-kit knew of was Cricketkit, but she had the feeling that there were more sisters around. One time, Kissedkit remembered, was that earlier that day she had lifted her head and peered over Cricketkit's ear-tips, and sure enough, there were other little bobbing heads next to her sister.

Today, Kissedkit hoped that she would learn more stuff. How right she was, because at that moment, their mother gently nosed her kits away from her milky belly and over to another mossy spot in the warm place they were in.

Her mother's touch with her nose to Kissedkit's cheek was soft, and Kissedkit liked it. She liked it a lot. For once, just one moment in her life, Leapingstar had spared her attention to Kissedkit. Then her life turned back to reality and her mother moved on to Cricketkit.

Once Leapingstar had them all lined up, Kissedkit vaguely heard her murmur, "Where's Shadowscar? He promised he'd be back from his patrol by now."

Kissedkit leaned forward and let her newly-opened blue-green eyes examine her siblings. After Cricketkit's light brown tabby form came a brown tabby she-cat who looked much like Kissedkit and Cricketkit themselves, except this sister had a red dash on her chest.

The next she-kit was a light ginger-furred smiler with kind eyes. Kissedkit couldn't wait to meet her.

The kit after her, though, was different. This kit had a slightly bulkier form. This kit's chest puffed out more, and the kit's legs were more muscled than the rest of the she-kits. Just then, Kissedkit realized that she had a brother. Her brother was fluffy, his fluff almost covering his tomcat-like bulk, with long, silky brown-and-white fur. Kissedkit was excited to touch his fur; she was sure that it was soft and smooth. She wondered if it would get tangled.

Kissedkit was pleased to have a brother too.

The last kit, Kissedkit could tell, was once again a she-kit. She was smaller than the rest, probably the last-born. Her fur had hardly grown in yet, and pale pink skin was still visible under her thin coat.

Suddenly another cat entered the den. Kissedkit spun around to see who it was. It was another "bulky" tom- a full-grown, large warrior, with broad shoulders, blue eyes, and fluffy gray fur that looked freshly groomed. His chest was completely white, along with his paws, which were lined with dust at the tips of the toes.

Leapingstar beamed and padded over to stand by the tom. "Kits, meet your father, Shadowscar."

Kissedkit couldn't believe her ears. _This cat is my father? Wow! _She felt very strong at that moment. Shadowscar looked like an extremely nice tom; Kissedkit could hardly be patient until she met him personally.

Shadowscar smiled down at his kits. "Well, hello, kits. This isn't the first time I've met you."

Kissedkit was confused. _How could he have done so? I've never seen him... oh wait, maybe he saw us when my eyes were closed. _

"I saw all of you when you were just heartbeats old." Kissedkit's jaw dropped, along with most of her other siblings'. _How is that possible?_

The tall gray tomcat stepped back, nodding to Leapingstar politely. She mewed, "It is about time that you all get to know each other. The only siblings you have met are the ones that are beside you during feeding time, and I'm sure you're eager to find out the names of your other littermates."

Kissedkit leaned forward eagerly. _I sure am! _

Her mother continued. "The order I say your names are also the order that you were born, from oldest to youngest." Leapingstar cleared her throat, then started the list.

"Kissedkit." Once she stood up, it wasn't for long because first, Cricketkit shoved her back down, and second, Kissedkit's legs weren't that sturdy yet. She came toppling on the ground again, and she looked down at her paws in embarrassment.

"The Toppling Tabby," Cricketkit whispered in her ear with a chuckle. Kissedkit flattened her ears. She knew that her sister was smart, but sometimes that didn't pay off for her.

Leapingstar grinned, but didn't make a move to laugh at her daughter. It appeared that the rest of Kissedkit's siblings hadn't seen her little fall.

"Then we have Cricketkit..." Cricketkit puffed out her chest, but as soon as she stood up Kissedkit shoved her back down, causing her to land on her nose. Cricketkit hissed and glared at her sister.

"The Falling... Cricket." Kissedkit said in the tabby kit's ear, snickering along with that.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that." Cricketkit arched her eyebrows then rolled her eyes. "The Falling Cricket? That's not even a good name. No similarities between the words."

Kissedkit took a double-take. "What?"

But Leapingstar was already moving on by now, only a hint of amusement in her eyes that Kissedkit saw, at least.

"Next up we have Robinkit."

Kissedkit had noticed that when she pushed her sister, Cricketkit had fallen into Robinkit, and that left the tabby she-kit covered in dust with her fur fluffed up and in clumps. Cricketkit observed this, too, and tucked her tail under her rump while she sat in shame.

Yet Robinkit still looked okay with that. She had a steady blue gaze that, ever-so-slowly, was turning into a deep amber. Once again, Kissedkit saw that distinctive red dash on her chest that stood out among the rest of her sister's fur.

"Singingkit." Now Kissedkit's eyes rested on the cute little pale ginger kit with a kind smile.

"Falconkit." The fluffy brown-and-white only-tom.

"And Cherrykit, the little one we didn't expect to come along." Cherrykit's lips turned up into a small grin.

Kissedkit sat up straight and mewed, "Now can we meet everybody?"

Cricketkit snorted and shoved her sister gently. "Sis, calm down. We can-"

"Well, of course you may!" Leapingstar nodded curtly, furrowing her eyebrows to Cricketkit. "I believe the shoving can stop now."

Cricketkit quit smiling and looked down at her paws again. Kissedkit held back a laugh at her sister during the small amount of time she took to walk over to Robinkit.

"Hi," she mewed, keeping it short and sweet while she looked into the tabby kit's pretty eyes.

"Hello." Robinkit moved slightly to look over Kissedkit's shoulder.

Just as Kissedkit turned her head around to see what Robinkit was looking at, Singingkit walked over.

"Hey," she meowed with a large simper. "Want to play the 'Leader Game' with me?"

Kissedkit cocked her head and looked at the ginger she-kit. "What's a 'game'?"

Singingkit flicked her tail faster than a leader could yowl the battle cry of "fight!". "It's something fun that you play together. In the Leader Game, we compete to see who's the best leader. The winner will most likely follow in our mother's pawsteps."

Kissedkit nodded enthusiastically. "Sounds fun! Who else should we invite to play?"

Her younger sister looked around. Falconkit was meandering all over the den and Cherrykit sat alone in a corner by herself. "Hey, Falconkit, Cherrykit, come here!"

Robinkit darted away, and Kissedkit took a moment to see who she wanted to meet.

It was Cricketkit.

The tabby she-kit flattened her ears sadly.

She felt a light nudge and snapped back to attention. Singingkit had rounded Falconkit and Cherrykit over and now was explaining them the game rules.

"...follow in our mother's pawsteps. Got it?" Falconkit shrugged, but Cherrykit nodded eagerly, appearing happy to be doing something.

"Now..." Singingkit slouched down into a crooked crouch of some sort. "Please don't think of me as bossy, but I'll start with Kissedkit as an example first." Cherrykit drooped, but Falconkit perked up and leaned forward on his haunches, listening intently to every word his sister said.

Excitement surged through Kissedkit like a lightning bolt in the sky. "Okay, um-" She crouched down like Singingkit and began to circle a piece of moss that served as bedding. Her eyes met her sister's eyes; they were a blue-gray. But deep down inside Singingkit's eyes, Kissedkit saw a flame, a fire, that meant no good.

A shiver tackled Kissedkit's spine as she continued to circle the moss, paws stepping clumsily sideways.

Finally, after a long time of sliding and tripping, Singingkit slowed to a stop. Kissedkit halted too, making sure that she was paying full attention. Then, _hiss_!

Singingkit jumped on top of her sister, and though her claws were sheathed, the one-moon-old kit's blows were sharp.

"Ow... where did you... learn this?!" Kissedkit sputtered, rolling around in the dust. Earth packed into her mouth and she spat it out. Suddenly her sister's ginger fur filled her mouth and she almost choked on the sour taste it had.

Then Kissedkit's limbs filled with energy that needed to be let out right away. She rose over Singingkit and pinned her down, paw on neck.

"Choking... suffering..." Singingkit pretended to look dead, but then she sprung back up when Kissedkit loosened her grip.

Beaming, Singingkit stood, brushing moss and debris off her pelt before mewing, "It's a tough game, if I do say so myself. Now, who wants to watch a round with Falconkit versus Cherrykit?"

Kissedkit backed away into a shadowed corner. _As long as Singingkit's not in it, I suspect there won't be any killing, _she thought hopefully. The tabby she-kit reluctantly stepped forward and raised her tail.

"I will."

Robinkit and Cricketkit trotted over to watch, and they sat contentedly together. Kissedkit's fur bristled. _So Robinkit thinks she can take my closest friend?_

In the couple heartbeats she thought that, four more kits entered the den- Rootkit, Rustlekit, Flashkit, and Hazekit, Raggedwater's kits.

Leapingstar laughed and exchanged glances with the tortoiseshell queen, who looked tired. "It's getting a bit crowded in here, don't you think?" With a flick of her tail to Raggedwater's nose, she added, "I may appoint Frostflower's daughters as apprentices soon."

Raggedwater's exhausted frown turned into a small grin. She lifted her paw and turned it to the side, wiggling it back and forth. "That wouldn't make much of a difference, though. Taking two kits away from ten others won't do much."

Kissedkit's mother simply shrugged and turned to gaze over at Frostflower's empty nest. "StormClan is thriving- thriving with kits."

Kissedkit turned back around, disappointed to see that Raggedwater's sons and daughters had joined the crowd, and the competition started without her.

She skittered off to join the others, squeezing in between Robinkit and Cricketkit. Cricketkit gave her a good glare, but Kissedkit nudged her and nodded toward Robinkit, who was watching Falconkit and Cherrykit play-fight with interest. "She's not my replacement, is she?" she whispered, her voice muffled due to her paw being over her mouth.

"What? Couldn't hear ya." Cricketkit smirked and faced the "ring".

Kissedkit rolled her eyes and shoved her way over to Cricketkit's left. "I won't stop asking until you answer me."

Cricketkit scowled at her sister. "Fine. The answer's no. Great SpiritClan, Kissedkit, I just wanted to meet Robinkit is all."

Kissedkit's eyes watered and she dragged herself over to sit next to Flashkit, the youngest of his litter. He looked at her and saw her cry.

"What's wrong?" Flashkit asked, his soft blue-green eyes melting Kissedkit's heart.

"Friendship-sister troubles. You wouldn't understand." Kissedkit turned her head away from him and covered her left cheek with a paw, trying to make this more dramatic.

Flashkit gently pushed away her paw and lifted her head up with his own paw. "You can tell me anything."

Kissedkit didn't say much but a mutter.

"Plus, I'm older than you, so you _have _to tell me," Flashkit added jokingly with a smile.

Kissedkit quietly whispered, "But it's ridiculous. I just thought that Robinkit was replacing me as Cricketkit's closest friend."

Flashkit blinked. "What about me?"

Kissedkit stared at him with a puzzled look. "What about you?"

"I thought we were the closest fr-" He was interrupted by a call of joy.

"Falconkit won!" Flashkit left her side and joined his brother Hazekit in congratulating the fluffy tom-kit, while all the she-kits went to comfort Cherrykit.

Cricketkit licked her ears. "Don't worry; I'm sure you'll beat him next time."

Robinkit smiled and said nothing; she simply nuzzled her little sister.

Singingkit licked her chops as if she was hungry for fresh-kill. "Yeah, think about winning, winning, winning!"

Cherrykit lifted her gaze from her paws. "Win?"

Kissedkit stepped forward. "Yes, win, but let's not get dramatic here."

Singingkit shot her a look and stalked away. Cricketkit and Robinkit tumbled off to play once more. Falconkit departed from his friends and walked over to Leapingstar. Cherrykit and Kissedkit, tired from the whole long day, curled up beside their mother and fell asleep.

Dawn was the next time Kissedkit opened her eyes. Her gaze looked over to her left, as far as her pupils could go without her moving her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the nursery exit.

Beyond it, she saw the camp clearing. A prickly brown tabby padded in on the dusty path that ran straight through the camp. Behind him were three more cats, which included two young toms and a tabby she-cat. Finally a miserable-faced white she-cat came in last. That's when Kissedkit noticed a fairly large gray lump on the brown tabby tom's back.

_What is it? _Kissedkit wondered curiously. She watched as the prickly cat gently dropped the gray mass. It limply rolled about, finally resting on its back. Kissedkit leaned forward and gasped inwardly. _Is that a cat?!_

Instinctively, Kissedkit kneaded her paws against Leapingstar's flank. The tabby queen woke up heartbeats later. "Yes, Kissedkit?" she yawned, revealing sharp pearly white teeth.

Kissedkit shivered yet at the same time was excited. _I'll be like her someday. I'll be the noble leader of StormClan. _But right now she had to stay on task.

"There's a t-tabby in the clearing and there's a gray gob with him- I think it's a cat!" Leapingstar moved carefully to be sure not to disturb her sleeping kits, then ordered Kissedkit to stay in the nursery firmly before climbing out.

The tabby she-kit couldn't resist. Quietly she crept up toward the nursery exit, which was an almost-perfectly round hole that, her mother told her, used to be the entrance to a rabbit den, which was now the nursery.

_I sleep where fresh-kill used to live! _Kissedkit had thought in astonishment.

As she peered out of the opening, she found her mother talking sternly to the cats that had arrived in the camp. Kissedkit heard Leapingstar call the prickly tom "Pricklepelt", the white she-cat "Frostflower", and the other three cats "Lemonsting", "Crescentpaw", and "Eaglepaw".

Kissedkit felt a soft tickle on her backside and spun around. There was Cherrykit, looking all innocent and sweet, as she always did. "What happenin' out dere?" she whispered, seeming to know that she had to be almost silent.

Kissedkit shook her head. "Nothing you'd understand," she whispered, repeating almost the same words she had said to Flashkit earlier.

"But I _wanna _know!" Cherrykit crawled up closer to Kissedkit with a pleading look in her eyes, but the dappled she-kit wouldn't buy it.

"It'd scare you, if I'm correct on what it is," Kissedkit replied quietly to the tiny little kit.

Cherrykit protested, "Please! Momma woke me up an' I was curi... curio..."

"Curious."

"Yah, dat."

Kissedkit suddenly shot straight up and spun around to face her sister. "So you came to me? Not even...?" she trailed off, feeling pride fill her from pads to ear tips.

"Yah, I guess."

Kissedkit crouched down so she was at her littlest sister's height. "You see, a cat is dead, I believe."

Suddenly Cherrykit began to shiver. She shivered until she began to tremble. Then trembling turned into whimpering, until, lastly, she screeched. Screeched all around the nursery.

"Dead... cat! Cat... dead!" she screeched, shoving Cricketkit and Robinkit. Running into Falconkit and Singingkit. Pushing Hazekit, Flashkit, Rootkit, and Rustlekit.

All of a sudden the nursery was abuzz with loudness. Morningkit and Heatherkit, who were sleeping alone without their mother Frostflower, climbed out of the mossy bedding and yawned.

"Hey, what's going-" Morningkit was interrupted when Cherrykit slammed into her.

"Cat... dead! Dead... cat!" she called again, clearly going into hysterics.

Raggedwater, the only queen still in the nursery at that moment, rushed around, desperately trying to calm the younger kits down.

Kissedkit slowly sneaked out of the crazy den and edged toward her mother and the interesting mystery conversation, her paws shuffling along in the soil.

Then she felt a sharp prick on the end of her tail, and she whipped around. There was Singingkit. "Don't tell me you were going to leave me in there!" she panted, slowly taking her short and stubby (yet prickly) claw off Kissedkit's tail.

Kissedkit hissed and spat. "Was it necessary to unsheathe your claws like that?"

Singingkit growled in reply. "Oh, was that too _dramatic _for you?" the ginger she-kit spat the word like it was poison on her tongue.

The dappled she-kit rolled her eyes. "Please. You still care about that? Just follow me and shut up."

Kissedkit thought she saw her sister mock her silently, but she couldn't be sure. Together, the kits continued to moderately glide along until they eventually reached a small boulder which held just enough rock for two kits to hide behind.

Once they reached their hiding spot, Kissedkit and Singingkit sat without much sound and listened to all the juicy info draining out from the talk. Only parts of it, though, were heard, as they were still close to the nursery and all the loud chaos coming from inside it.

"Secrets from the Clan..."

"I'm sorry... please forgive me..."

"Ashfoot... dead."

"Told us... story."

"Sore limbs... muscles aches..."

"Hootfeather and Turtlesong... training lessons?"

"Why in the name of... would you do... hm?"

Kissedkit and Singingkit exchanged puzzled glances.

"Secrets from the Clan? What secrets from the Clan?" Singingkit wondered aloud.

"I wanna know what those secrets are!" Kissedkit cried.

"Who's Ashfoot, and why is he dead?"

"Maybe someone killed him?"

"Sore limbs and muscle aches?"

"Maybe he was an elder, one of those old cranky cats."

Singingkit looked confused beyond belief. "Who needs to be forgiven, what story, and what Hootfeather, Turtlesong, and training lessons?"

"What did this cat do?!" Kissedkit pondered over this.

They peered over the rock one more time, then slunk back to the nursery.


	3. The Ceremony

_Gradually, Cricketkit's eyes opened. Once again, _they revealed a piercing blue. Sunlight fell into the nursery, streaming down through the nursery entrance and exit, a round hole.

Cricketkit's long, fixed stare moved to her right. Sprawled out on her belly, legs stretched out, was Robinkit. Cricketkit nudged Robinkit until she was awake.

"Hey, Robinkit, wake up so we can play earlier than the rest of the kits!" the beige tabby whispered in her littermate's flattened ear.

But Robinkit grumbled, "Shut up. I'm trying to..." -yawn- "... sleep."

Cricketkit frowned. Since when was she grumpy? Cricketkit wasn't the type of kit who just shrugged and moved on with her life; she was the type of kit to sit and ponder over things. So, Cricketkit pondered over this. _Maybe she doesn't feel well?_ The she-kit itched to ask Robinkit if she felt fine or not, but then another thought popped into Cricketkit's head:

_Is she keeping a secret from me?_

Now, Cricketkit wasn't the dramatic, exaggerated type like Kissedkit or Singingkit were, but she was curious. Finally, she whispered in Robinkit's ear, "And what are you hiding from me?"

Robinkit growled. "Nothing, Cricketkit. Now be quiet, I told you, and let me sleep."

But Cricketkit pushed on. "Do you feel okay?"

Robinkit burst out in reply, "Yes! Yes! I feel great, alright? Where can a she-kit get her rest around here?" And of course, that woke everybody else up.

Cricketkit scowled around as she watched Cherrykit yawn and tumble out of her nest. Kissedkit sighed gently and rolled over on her back. Singingkit stirred, too, and opened her blue-gray eyes. Falconkit was up also and began to groom himself. He had just learned it from his father and was apparently proud of it.

Soon enough, all of the StormClan kits were up. Morningkit and Heatherkit, who were both getting very big for their nests now, woke up to find themselves laying on the bare rock-hard ground.

Hazekit, handsome Hazekit, opened one orange eye and muttered, "Who woke me up from my nap?" His sisters Rootkit and Rustlekit began to complain as well.

"I was having a good dream!"

"Yeah, I hate being woken up unless it's an emergency!"

A cloud of embarrassment fell over Cricketkit's head, and she felt cold drops of icy rain fall onto her still-fluffy pelt and slide down her back. Hastily she mewed, "It was me. No need to attack, th-" She was interrupted by a large ball of fur, from tabby to solid black.

She hissed and squirmed fiercely, trying to get all the kits and extra weight off of her. Soon she had managed to push all of her younger siblings off. Now only Raggedwater's litter remained. Flashkit playfully bit her ear, and his sisters worked to pin Cricketkit down on the earth. Cricketkit thought she saw Hazekit grin a small grin before he snapped his jaws around her muzzle much like a dog. Thank SpiritClan it was fake!

Cricketkit reminded herself that these kits were halfway to becoming apprentices. Plus, no cat seemed to know who their father was except for Raggedwater herself, who of course wouldn't tell anybody- he could be a very strong cat.

"Our father could be any cat in this Clan. You never know, we could be half-siblings!" Cricketkit recalled Rootkit saying a couple sunrises ago. But Cricketkit just couldn't picture Shadowscar being Rootkit, Rustlekit, Flashkit, and Hazekit's father too. _None of them are gray like him, _she thought, _so how could he be their dad?_

The beige she-kit felt soft fur brush against her side, and Cricketkit turned to find her mother Leapingstar sit up. She swiftly groomed herself, tongue to paw to face. Then the tabby queen stood up on her paws and whispered to Cricketkit, "Want to see your first Clan meeting?"

Excitement blasted through Cricketkit like a rabbit rocketing over a moor. She nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes! Lots of fun in one day! Then we'll try our first solids..."

Cricketkit's littermates were up and maneuvering in an instant, moving quickly to smooth their fur down and be ready in time. Everyone wanted to be first out of the nursery. Cricketkit chuckled as she watched Singingkit sharply shove Falconkit to get ahead of him in the single-file line. _We're not even the center of attention this time, and we're all still rushing to be first. _Yet she too couldn't resist the happiness and found herself behind Singingkit who was behind Kissedkit, who was the leader _again_.

Annoyance seeped through Cricketkit's senses but she managed to keep quiet. She tried to keep her mind off her troubles and gazed around. Frostflower appeared to be nervous, lapping at Morningkit and Heatherkit's sleek pelts warily. Morningkit and her sister simply looked confused, watching all of the other cats' strange behavior. Heatherkit finally demanded, "What's going on?"

Frostflower purred, her nervousness turning into pride. "Hush, little one. You will soon find out."

"Oh!" Morningkit and Heatherkit joined into the purring, probably having just guessed what was about to happen. Though Cricketkit was fairly smart, or at least the most intelligent out of her litter, she couldn't get her paw on this case.

Leapingstar left the den, her nimble paws bouncing against the dusty earth. She flicked her tail and led all of the StormClan kits out of the den. The line of kits went like this: Kissedkit, Singingkit, Cricketkit, Falconkit, Robinkit, Cherrykit, Hazekit, Rootkit, Rustlekit, Flashkit, and finally, the ones every cat was waiting for... Morningkit and Heatherkit.

"So many kits!" Cricketkit heard a random warrior murmur to himself.

The tabby kit watched as Singingkit puffed out her chest, trying to make herself visible among all the other balls of fluff.

Leapingstar guided the long line of youngsters to the second row. The she-leader stopped and gave a signal to Kissedkit with her tail to slide in. Cricketkit moved smoothly into the row after Singingkit. She was followed by Falconkit, who wriggled and squirmed like a worm coming out of a hole.

"Aren't you excited?" he whispered into her ear, his breath coming out of his mouth in little gasps.

"Yep. I sure am," Cricketkit replied, watching with interest as Morningkit and Heatherkit continued on after Leapingstar and up to under the Lightningrock. The Lightningrock was a large, smooth stone that jutted out from its high place in the clearing. The huge rock seemed to tower over Cricketkit like a scary monster. A long black mark ran down the side of the Lightningrock. Cricketkit remembered her mother telling herself and her siblings that long ago the meeting rock was struck by an amazingly large lightning bolt. That lightning strike gave the rock its name.

Leapingstar climbed up onto the rock carefully, and the beige she-kit watched her mother's every move, every pawstep; the leader seemed to be choosing her steps carefully, taking a paw-hold in a boulder when she could.

Then Cricketkit's first-ever Clan meeting started. Most of the Clan was already gathered beneath the Lightningrock, but Leapingstar called out the original call anyway, probably to demonstrate to her kits how the whole thing went:

"Let all cats old enough to climb a tall tree gather here beneath the Lightningrock for a Clan meeting!" her voice echoed through the forest, making Cricketkit proud for a few heartbeats that this impressive cat was her mother.

A couple more warriors poked their heads out of their den and trotted over to sit down beside their early friends. Even a hunting patrol scrambled in, well-organized by the new StormClan deputy, Leopardsoul.

Cricketkit knew for a fact that Leopardsoul had been the old deputy, Ashfoot's, mate. She was a fine deputy, following each and every order that she was given to by Leapingstar.

The she-kit's gaze fled back up to her mother and rested there.

"Today I have much news to share. First, I would like to compliment on Leopardsoul. She is doing extremely nicely at her new position. Let's hear a yowl for Leopardsoul!"

The camp filled with yells and howls of Leopardsoul's name, or just "Ooooooo!". Cricketkit joined in by quietly calling the she-cat's pretty name.

Cricketkit moved over a bit and stretched her neck over a huge tabby warrior's head to see Leopardsoul. She seemed to be bursting with self-esteem.

Leapingstar waited patiently until the noise quieted down, then continued. "Also, as many of you down there know, tonight is the Gathering. Warriors, please come with me after this meeting so we can discuss who will go."

She paused to let cats murmur around a bit.

"Finally, we come to the most exciting and memorable part- the new naming of four cats!"

Cricketkit's mouth fell open to her paws. _Four? _she thought. _I thought this only involved Morningkit and Heatherkit! _

Her mother purred, "Smokepaw, Whisperpaw, please step forward." Cricketkit followed Leapingstar's gaze to find a smoky gray tom and darker gray she-cat.

_Apprentices! Real apprentices! _Cricketkit thought excitedly, squirming in her seat. Singingkit gave her a shove and Falconkit licked her ears and nodded in agreement. "I know, this is great!"

Smokepaw and Whisperpaw briefly traveled on trembling feet to under the Lightningrock, where Leapingstar stood boldly.

"Smokepaw, Whisperpaw, you both have been apprentices of StormClan for a long while. I am sorry for the delay." Both cats nodded, not about to argue with the leader.

The tabby she-cat's gaze moved to a dark brown tom and dark gray she-cat. "Boulderpelt and Everheart, do you believe that your apprentices have completed their training and are ready to move on the warriors' den with you?"

The pair agreed. Boulderpelt added, "Smokepaw had done remarkably well in his training, and I believe that this is the perfect time for him and his sister to become full members of the Clan."

Cricketkit figured that Everheart was a quiet, shy cat- she simply nodded.

Whisperpaw was jumping up and down on her paws as Leapingstar continued. Cricketkit paid attention to every heartbeat of the meeting.

So she didn't have to yell anymore, Cricketkit's mother climbed down from the Lightningrock in a few well-done strides. She had good experience with that. When the StormClan leader was in front of the young cats, she purred, "Then it is final. It's time for you two to be named warriors. From this day forward you, Smokepaw, shall be known as Smokefur."

"Smokefur! Smokefur! Smokefur!" The gray tom beamed as his name was called. _Cats love to call each other's names at these meetings, _Cricketkit remarked to herself as she joined into the happy yowling.

Whisperpaw looked impatient while the Clan finished calling her brother's name. Paws shuffling, the she-cat's grin turned into a smile when Leapingstar gave her a new name.

"You shall be known as Whisperheart from this moment on." Leapingstar proclaimed.

"Whisperheart, Whisperheart!" The Clan.

"WHISPERHEART!" screamed Singingkit. She jumped up high so she could see over a black warrior's pointed ears. Whisperheart spun around from where she was talking to another young she-cat. Her amber eyes were wide as if the Clan were under attack.

"What do you want, kit?" she growled back, though fairly nicely because she knew that Singingkit was the leader's daughter.

Smokefur nudged his sister. "She's just screaming your name. It's a kit; nothing to worry about." He flicked his tail and nudged his sister. "Now come on, the ceremony's not over. Let's sit down and watch."

The newly-named she-warrior muttered, "Fine. But don't act like you're so mature."

Leapingstar remained on the ground, waiting. Cricketkit turned and glared at Singingkit. "What was that for?!"

Singingkit licked her lips and smirked at her littermate. "It was for fun."

Cricketkit simply shook her head from side to side and watched the rest of the meeting.

Her mother was calling for Morningkit and Heatherkit. The two sisters marched over to the leader like they were hypnotized. Their eyes were frozen, staring straight into Leapingstar's gaze. Were they forcing it? Had Frostflower told them to do it?

Cricketkit swung her face around and looked for the queen. She was easy to find thanks to her bright, clean white pelt. Frostflower sat contentedly between a tabby and black tom. Her blue eyes were fixed on her daughters. Then voices echoed in Cricketkit's ears and she moved back to see Morningkit, her sister, and her mother.

"By naming apprentices, we show that StormClan will survive and remain strong. Morningkit, from now on you shall be known as Morningpaw..."

It seemed as if the whole Clan was holding its breath during the time it took for Leapingstar to decide.

"This is a choice I do not often make," she confessed.

Cricketkit let her breath out.

"Smokefur, you are ready for an apprentice. I know you have just moved up from Morningpaw's new position, but I believe that you and your sister are mature enough to handle apprentices of your own. You will be Morningpaw's mentor."

Smokefur's mouth dropped open. He sauntered over to Morningpaw and touched noses with her.

Murmurs and gossip, plus low and suspicious voices surrounded Cricketkit and almost overwhelmed her.

"Young warrior..."

"Apprentice!"

"... I just can't believe that."

Cricketkit growled. She didn't know Smokefur that much, but she knew for a fact that he seemed nice and that Morningkit, er, Morningpaw appeared easy to train. Surely they would do well together!

Leapingstar waited until the mutters died down, then added, "Whisperheart, Everheart trained you well. If your brother gets an apprentice, it means you do too. Heatherkit, from now on you will be known as Heatherpaw, until you receive your warrior name that is. Whisperheart will be Heatherpaw's mentor."

The new team of she-cats tapped each other's noses lightly, then sat down together on the side of the clearing.

That's when voices filled the camp once again. "Smokefur, Morningpaw!"

"Morningpaw, Morningpaw!"

"Whisperheart! Heatherpaw!"

"Heatherpaw! Heatherpaw!"

Cricketkit finished cheering Heatherpaw's name and fell silent, pupils still sliding from Falconkit to Singingkit.

Cricketkit stretched her neck around Falconkit to see if Robinkit was doing fine. She was, indeed, fine. _Guess she's not sick after all... _the beige tabby thought. Her gaze wandered beyond Robinkit's broad shoulders and pointy muzzle until they reached Leapingstar.

By now Leapingstar had moved over to the side of the clearing and was talking to the warriors of the Clan. Cricketkit watched as a rejected warrior trudged away sadly. The cats that were chosen to go to the Gathering remained by the leader's side, prancing happily around like they had just won the last piece of fresh-kill on the pile.

Cricketkit examined the cats that stayed with her mother. All of the cats that were just involved in the ceremony were there, along with that cat Pricklepelt again. There was also Leopardsoul, of course, who was with a black tom, silver she-cat, gray-brown she-cat, and a couple tabbies.

The cat named Boulderpelt scratched impatiently at the ground with his claws.

The gray-brown warrior growled and looked past Cricketkit with a far-away, distant gaze. _I wonder what she's thinking about? _the she-kit thought curiously.

Suddenly, she felt a heavy shove from her right. Cricketkit spun around. It was her brother. "Get your butt up and legs moving," Falconkit growled.

"What's with your sudden change of mood?" His sister shot back, flicking her tail.

Falconkit's grumpy frown turned up into a goofy grin. "My mood didn't change- I just like saying that!"

Cricketkit blinked.

"Now move!" Her sibling shoved her behind again.

Cricketkit replied sharply, "Well then!" She moved out of the way to let him go. The beige tabby wanted to linger just a little bit longer, in that spot, to watch the camp around her. It was the perfect place to do so.

_Grumpy, pushy toms. _Cricketkit thought. _He's becoming one already._

After her observing thought, the she-kit noticed that she was alone. Everyone else had left her. There. In that one place, in the center of the camp.

And Cricketkit liked that. No siblings to argue with, no mother to lick her fur and no father to push her around. Or brother.

_All alone, _Cricketkit thought calmly, happily. _I like that. _

A sudden breeze blew through the camp, and Cricketkit smiled as she felt her ears flap in the wind.

"Hey, this is kind of fun!" The she-kit continued to smile until the wind started to pick up.

She started. "A... a... I- help!"

But it seemed as if no cat could hear her. Now the clearing was completely deserted. The wind blew into the dens, then whooshed out as if they were empty. All was silent around the place where Leapingstar and the chosen warriors had just stood chatting.

Cricketkit shivered. _What's happening to me? _She wanted to know, but who could tell her?

The wind began to pick up even more and commenced to blow in circular motions, moving around and around Cricketkit until she felt herself being lifted off the ground.  
"Wha... ?" she cried. "But wind is lighter than me! How can it lift me up into the air?"

Cricketkit blew along with the breeze like a useless leaf, which happened to be flying next to her.

_Flying... flying... I'm flying! _Cricketkit suddenly realized in her thoughts. Then she cried out, "I'm flying!"

"Not so fast, little one."

Cricketkit jumped in midair as the voice spoke. It was soothing despite the crashing wind that had lifted the she-kit up and out of the camp.

"H-huh?" Cricketkit called nervously in reply to the voice.

The voice made a laughing noise. "Come here with me, darling."

The beige kit blinked. "But, uh... where are you?"

The wind continued to carry Cricketkit about, and she was starting to get dizzy. Suddenly she wondered if she would be able to keep her milk down or not.

The bizarre voice came again. "Follow the sound of my voice. Look to your left..." The breezes finally began to calm down.

Cricketkit's paws flailed as she tried to make a left turn. She assuredly got to turn and sure enough, the voice got louder and louder as she approached it. Cricketkit realized that the wind was ever-so-slowly pushing her body down, down, to the ground.

"Back to earth..." Cricketkit breathed a sigh of relief when she felt her paws touch grass again. The grass was lush and soft, still thoroughly soaked with dew. Her gaze arose to find a starry spirit before her.

"Welcome, Cricketkit, to..." The spirit paused to let her first three words sink in.

Cricketkit was mesmerized by the ginormous amounts of stars around her. They twinkled just like the eyes of her father.

"...SpiritClan."

"SpiritClan..." Cricketkit whispered in pure astonishment. She examined the sky above her once more- it was clear of any breezes or wind- then faced the spirit boldly.

This spirit of a cat had that soothing voice... and it was the perfect cat to introduce a new life to the heaven of the Clans. It was a she-cat, and stars sparkled in her fur.

When Cricketkit looked closer, beyond the she-spirit, a gasp escaped from between her poised lips.

Thousands upon thousands of rolling hills of long, delicate grass blades appeared behind the dead cat. Cricketkit made out three other sparkly spirits padding over to where she and the first cat stood.

The cat stepped over, nearer to Cricketkit. "You may call me Hollystar, young warrior." Hollystar's purr was rough, as if she had used it many times before and it was wearing out.

Cricketkit dipped her head. "H... hello Hollystar."

Hollystar moved aside the let the other cats come forward- another she-cat and two tomcats.

_It's as if she knew they were there... I never would have, _Cricketkit observed to herself in amazement.

"This is Grayspots-" Hollystar dipped her head to a gray-and-white queen.

"Longclaw..." A pale tabby tom with extra-long claws that clinked against the smooth stone he was standing on.

"And Reedwhisker, named after the famous RiverClan deputy of the ancient times."A tabby tom.

Reedwhisker ambled ahead until he was a pawstep away from Cricketkit's nose. He tapped it gently. "Welcome to SpiritClan, Cricketkit."

Longclaw and Grayspots, who seemed to be mates since they were close together, smiled and nodded too without saying a word.

"My mate, Reedwhisker, and Longclaw and Grayspots, also mates, have some wonderful news to share with you."

Cricketkit had perked up ever since she touched noses with Reedwhisker- the tap had seemed special to her, like it had given her a whole new power and way of seeing things.

Longclaw cleared his throat and sheathed his claws.

_Maybe he's not that bad, _Cricketkit thought in abatement. _As long as he doesn't keep those nasty claws out all the time..._

Grayspots exchanged glances with the other three cats, then advanced over to Cricketkit.

"Cricketkit, you and two other siblings of yours are part of something very special." she started.

Longclaw's head bobbed up and down in support. "Yes."

Reedwhisker purred, "Young Cricketkit, you must find the littermates that correspond to this..." he paused.

"Prophecy." Hollystar finished for him. "You are in a prophecy. More details shall come to you later."

She turned away and filed over to another separate clearing. "I have another kit to take care of..."

When Cricketkit watched her go, she thought she saw a small shimmery tabby form standing there.

_Could it be... ?_

The breeze had come back again and carried Cricketkit around in the air, knocking her to and fro, until finally she woke up.

Eyes open wide and blinking, the she-kit found herself still in the spot where the whole daydream had started. Cricketkit carefully sat up and thought about Hollystar, Grayspots, Longclaw, and Reedwhisker. Were these cats past warriors of StormClan?

There had been something in Hollystar's voice that she recognized- it was something Cricketkit could have sworn she heard before. But what was it? Then the beige she-kit remembered... Holly_star_! This cat must have been an ex-leader of StormClan.

Her name had been familiar too. And the other cats... Longclaw's voice had been soothing to her. It was deep and majestic just like Shadowscar's. Shadowscar!

_Those cats must have been Leapingstar and Shadowscar's parents! They were mates too..._

It was truly amazing to discover this. Cricketkit gazed around the camp. Two warriors, Poisonrush and Hawktalon, were sharing tongues by the fresh-kill pile. Cricketkit licked her lips hungrily. It was tempting to run over and steal the two warriors' squirrel.

"Hey, Cricket! Come on!" Singingkit's loud yowl came from over near the kill pile.

Cricketkit rushed over to the 'kill pile in a few swift bounds. "What?" she panted breathlessly once she reached the ginger kit.

"Time to try solids!" Singingkit's voice was ecstatic, and once again her eyes burned with an icy blue fire.

The flames in her eyes died down, though, when Leapingstar came to speak. "It is just turning to dusk, kits- I want you to all behave well while I am at the Gathering. Poisonrush and Hawktalon will both look after you."

Some groaning took place during Leapingstar's pause. The she-cat growled. "But before that, let the solid-trying begin!"

Cricketkit had the urge to dive right into the pile of dead prey, but instead she patiently waited until her mother set a piece of mouse at her paws. It was a small morsel, but enough to satisfy a kit's taste buds for sure.

She leaned down and lapped up the piece of mouse onto her tongue. Cricketkit chewed it for a while, rolling it all around her mouth with her tongue to get a good taste of it. The mouse had a meaty, juicy taste to it- the beige she-kit enjoyed squeezing the prey so that the small amount of juice inside the meat could be forced out. It would trickle all around her mouth like a drizzle of rain on her pelt.

"Mmm!" Kissedkit exclaimed once she swallowed. "A masterpiece!"

For a moment Cricketkit's mind wandered back to her visit from the SpiritClan cats, and how she saw that tabby in the distance just before she woke up. The tabby pattern of stripes that shone on Kissedkit's pelt seemed hauntingly familiar. _Me, and two other siblings... _Cricketkit thought to herself. Carefully, she swallowed the mouse. It was the first time she ever swallowed a lump, which was much more than a liquid.

But then she quickly was back to the small prophecy again. _Who could it be? _The tabby kit gazed around her siblings.

Singingkit had ripped her morsel into little bits, little tears, of meat. She must have been savoring it, the way she sucked on the mouse with wide, excited eyes. Too ambitious, perhaps. _I wish I had done that... but then again, the prophecy. She may be it..._

Cricketkit shifted her gaze to look at Robinkit. _She's definitely a possibility, but there's still Falconkit or Cherrykit. _Cricketkit looked up at them. _Falconkit, definitely NOT. Cherrykit, well..._ The beige kit trailed off inside her head as she thought. _I don't think so..._

Suddenly the solid-trying was the thing that Cricketkit cared about the least. Right now she wanted to find out more details about this prophecy. She itched to ask Kissedkit if she, too, had received something, even just some little message or sign, that she could be the one.

"Well, what do you think, kits?" Leapingstar's voice broke into Cricketkit's thoughts. She jumped then snapped back to attention as her mother spoke.

Leapingstar's tone was in a hurried, rushed, way, and that's when Cricketkit remembered about the Gathering. She dearly wished that she could go.

"Awesome!"

"Yummy!"

"Cool!"

"Great!"

"Nice!"

"Tasty!" Cricketkit added last, a bit stunned by Singingkit's hasty "Awesome!". She had a screechy, scratchy, high-pitched voice that rung in the tabby she-kit's sensitive ears.

_Okay, she is most certainly NOT one._

Tiredness swept over Cricketkit as she felt her paws wriggle toward the nursery. She wanted to hear news from the Gathering- preferably the first to hear it- but there was no way that could ever happen in sleep.


	4. The Revelation

**Please read the A/N below!**

**-Mossy**

* * *

_Snoring filled the air of the _StormClan nursery. Robinkit tossed and turned in her sleep, unsettled by the loud noise.

Finally she opened one eye and shot a glare at her brother, Falconkit, though he wasn't able to see her through closed eyelids.

Muttering something under her breath, Robinkit pulled herself up and out of the moss. She stepped above an overturned Rustlekit and ruffled Leopardsoul. Well, Robinkit had to go around Leopardsoul. She soon was squeezing out of the small hole that made the entrance and exit to the nursery.

Once she was out, Robinkit released a colossal yawn. After that she lumbered over to the fresh-kill pile, shiny bluish-amber eyes still bleary with sleep. The brown she-kit, before eating, gave herself a pre-groom, sliding her tongue over her rough pelt. Before long, the third-oldest of her litter had a smooth pelt and dried-out tongue.

Licking her lips to prevent any further dryness to the insides of her mouth, Robinkit gazed down at her choices. There was a heap of prey most likely killed the night before; Robinkit had woken up so early that not even any patrols had left the camp yet.

A squirrel was piled on top of a mouse, a squished blackbird was pushed up against a vole. A couple birds were thrown on top of the oddball magpie, and a thrush lay alone slumped on the side of the 'kill pile. It was far away, all by itself, as if it were stranded in the middle of the water of the sun-drown-place. Robinkit decided on the thrush as her target and leaped at it, successfully dragging the slaughtered bird out of the hole.

Robinkit licked her chops again and was about to eat when she heard the unmistakable sound- the noise the deputy produced when she woke up in the early morning.

It was kind of like a screech. Yeah, a loud-like noise. Robinkit flattened her ears in pain at hearing it. Then came, "Wake up! Patrol-organizing time!"

_Poisonrush is up, _Robinkit realized, quite sadly. The pushy tabby had taken Leopardsoul's place ever since her announcement of expecting kits- yet she wouldn't reveal who the lucky tom was.

This whole subject annoyed Robinkit because almost every dawn she was awakened by a male warrior seeking a walk with the new queen in hopes that she would tell him that he was the cat.

This wasn't Leopardsoul's first litter, however. Her first litter had been Smokefur and Whisperheart- her former mate was the late Ashfoot.

All this confusion frustrated Robinkit, and she huffed angrily as she dug into her early meal. The taste of thrush in the morning pleased her as she rolled the chunk of meat around her mouth with her tongue. For a heartbeat or two it took the thought of Poisonrush off of Robinkit's mind. Then...

"Hey!"

Robinkit suppressed a hiss of annoyance while she eddied around. "Um, yes?"

Poisonrush's orange-striped form loomed over her like an eerie tall mountain. "Where's your mother?" the temporary deputy growled in a sharp tone.

"In the nursery," Robinkit responded quietly. "Obviously," she added to herself virtually silently.

"What?" Poisonrush demanded. Her ears were perked straight up in the air.

The brown kit shook her head innocently. "Nothing." She tried out using her sweet almost-amber look on the tough warrior.

Even on that she-cat, it worked. Poisonrush sighed. Green gaze still yet flashing, she turned away and trotted over to the pile of rocks below the Lightningrock. Yawning and moaning warriors were gathered beneath the boulders; they had been waiting for a bit during the time Poisonrush set aside to pretty much scold Robinkit.

Letting out a breath of slight relief, Robinkit continued to gnaw on her meal, soon staring at simply the bones of the bird. All that time she listened to Poisonrush's patrol-organizing.

"Hawktalon- get over here. You know I hate stalling. Let's see if I can trust you to lead a hunting patrol with Ashenflame and Shadewhisker. Got it? A simple, easy task."

Out of the corner of her eye, Robinkit saw Hawktalon nod in a hasty manner. "Yes. Of course. Right away!" He sounded... practically... _scared _of the deputy.

_Strange, _Robinkit remarked in her head. _Poisonrush sure makes a lot of rough comments too._

"Shadowscar: now. I want a patrol along the FlameClan border, to, clearly, check the borders. Take Brackenstripes and Boulderpelt with you. Got it?"

"Yep," Shadowscar replied in a tired-sounding voice.

Robinkit bit her lip so hard that it almost burst when she heard Poisonrush's next statement:

"You better 'yep' it, lazy bag of bones. Hurry up and get movin'."

_She just said that to my _father_!_ Robinkit exclaimed to herself in astonishment. Later, out of boredom, she came up with a little rhyme about Poisonrush.

_Watch for her_

_Poison claws_

_Her acid_

_remarks_

_And her_

_Superior_

_Beauty_

That's what Robinkit sung over and over in her head the rest of the morning as she listened to Poisonrush's stern voice snapping at warriors older than her. Soon the tune became something to hum.

Humming turned to muttering. Muttering turned to talking quietly. Soon her articulation was loud enough for any cat to hear if they listened hard enough.

"...and her super..." she started on her probably hundredth time of saying the poem when she heard the voice of another cat.

"What are you saying?" It was a peep, a tiny inquiry so small that Robinkit could just barely detect it.

She circled around to discover the bantam figure behind her. "Oh, hello... Cherrykit."

"What were you saying?" the ginger she-kit demanded again. She rotated around on her paws, chasing the tip of her twitching tail effectively.

"Nothing," Robinkit responded stiffly, knowing by heart that this would only make her little sister even more suspicious.

"Tell me!" Cherrykit said.

Robinkit's paws tingled nervously. This was totally backfiring. All she had wanted was to come up with a little rhyme to hum to herself to prevent boredom. But now she was going to reveal the words that had spilled out of her lips just heartbeats earlier and get in trouble with everybody.

"I just produced a little poem about the deputy. Now run off and... play with Raggedwater's kits or something." Although Robinkit was sure Hazekit or one of the older kits would crush Cherrykit with one swipe, she would do absolutely anything to rid of her sister at this moment.

"Poisonrush is deputy." Cherrykit replied.

"I know, I'm not a mouse-brain," Robinkit tried her signature smile. She flashed it, showing pearly white teeth.

Cherrykit stared at her canines, almost in fear. Seeing the look in her eyes, Robinkit quickly threw her lips back over the inside of her mouth and finally mewed, "Watch for her poison claws, her acid remarks, and her superior beauty."

The ginger fur of her sibling prickled. Pelt in spikes, Cherrykit repeated slowly, "P-poison claws? Acid remarks? ... Superior beauty?"

Robinkit wondered if her littermate even knew or understood what those words meant. _It's good if she doesn't know them, _she thought. _Because she won't be able to crack the code and tell on me._

She grinned. "That's it. That's all I was saying." With a flick of her tail, she attempted the famous leader dismiss.

Cherrykit twinkled. "I like that. Can I tell it to Rootkit and Rustlekit?" Her paws wriggled, bespeaking her excitement.

Robinkit's heart pounded against her chest. "Um, I don't think they'd like that... exactly."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Tell me."

"Just _because_! Now shoo!"

Ducking her head, Cherrykit shuffled away unhappily, without cheer in her usually jumpy step anymore.

Robinkit felt her shoulders flutter up then down again. What did she care? Just as long as her sister didn't know the definitions of _poison_, _acid_, or _superior_, she would be safe.

Carefully, though, the brown she-kit gazed after her trailing sister just to confirm her fineness.

Cherrykit was dragging her paws on the dusty earth, trudging as much as she could to get the filth on her toes. Passing cats and warriors stared down as the walked by uncertainly. Cherrykit glared at the ground and continued to do so until she stomped into the nursery and, as Robinkit saw from just outside the entrance to the den, flop into her nest of moss.

The brown she-kit backed off into a couple bushes to the side of the camp. She didn't want to be caught by any scolding adult cat. Believing she was finally secure, though, Robinkit sighed in relief and sat back, relaxing for a bit. Then she heard a soft call. Singingkit was calling her name!

Robinkit tumbled smoothly out from her hiding place (it'd be handy for later, so she was going to remember it) and glanced at her sister. "What's up?"

"Apprentice sesssssssssion!" Singingkit cried, dancing around on the tips of her dusty pale toes.

"Apprentice session?" Robinkit was confused. "But we're not apprentices yet."

Singingkit's lips furled up into a wide grin. "No, no need to worrrry- apprentices are trainin' ussssss!"

"Oh, I see," Robinkit said. Her eyes rolled up to the sky. "But you can stop stretching out words and stammering now?"

"Whatever," muttered Singingkit darkly. But she quickly was up again and moving fast. "Come on come on!"

Robinkit bolted after her sister. The apprentice session, of course, was taking place in front of the apprentices' den. Robinkit couldn't help but feeling excited deep down inside a bit herself, but she wanted to remain on the mature side externally- she didn't want to be viewed as an annoying kit by the apprentices and get on their bad side early on.

All of the apprentices were there- Morningpaw, Heatherpaw, Eaglepaw, Crescentpaw. Eaglepaw spoke loudly to begin.

"Alright now, let's get started!" he yowled. That sure caught all of the kits' attention. The three litters were there- it was a crowded session.

"Today," the brown tabby paced in circles around the kits. "we will do blank training."

Crescentpaw, a thick-furred solid brown tom, stepped in and growled something into Eaglepaw, who was slightly younger's, ear.

Eaglepaw suddenly sat straight up then flattened his ears, showing a clear sign of cat embarrassment.

"What this ecstatic tabby meant to say was..." Morningpaw tried. She turned to Crescentpaw pleadingly.

The long-haired apprentice gave them both sharp looks now. Then he said tiredly, "Battle moves or hunting tips?"

Heatherpaw, behind the other three, was bending her limbs up and down quickly and whispering, "Hunting hunting hunting."

"Alright alright alright," Crescentpaw growled. "Well, the first-"

Just then, a loud squeak of excitement could be heard from across the clearing. All the kits and apprentices spun around. There was Cherrykit, hopping from paw to paw in front of Leopardsoul.

_What the...? _Robinkit wondered.

* * *

**EDIT: I got five reviews, so I finished this chapter for today ^^ (And I know I didn't add much, I was running out of time so I just put in a few lines.)**

**This is as far as I got for the pre-written stuff. If you want me to continue the story, please post a review and say so. Then I will finish this chapter, and the chapters from here and so on will be written better because they will be new. **

**-Mossy**


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